Protection
by scandalouslesbians
Summary: After everything that Abby and Olivia have been through together, even with the betrayal of Olivia leaving OPA, Abby still cares enough to find her.
1. Secrets

Hurt.

That's how she felt when Olivia Pope disappeared from her life. There were so many emotions that made her wonder why the woman who saved her would ever leave her, especially when she needed the support.

Harrison had died, and she needed Olivia to tell her that things would be fine, that nothing would happen to her. Olivia was the one she went to when things had went downhill, and she didn't know what to do.

Her safety and reassurance was taken from her the moment that she heard that Olivia's phone had been disconnected. She thought of so many things could have happened to the woman she cared about so much and would do anything for.

For her to only find out that she had went out of the country with her boyfriend months later, without telling her or anyone hurt her more than she could explain. The hurt that she had felt from Olivia leaving without even muttering a word to her or leaving a clue as to where she was filled Abby with so much anger, she didn't know what to do.

After a month of looking for her, she realized that she had to move on from looking for someone who either didn't want to be found or couldn't be found. She made the arrangements for Harrison's funeral on her own and decided that everything else from now on had to be dealt with on her own.

As much as she wanted to keep Olivia's business up and running, she knew that she couldn't produce the funds to keep it functioning. She had to find something else to do because everything that she knew was falling apart and crumbling to the ground at a rapid pace that she wasn't prepared to deal with.

Moving on was the next step, she had to find a new career. She could easily get hired at a cheap law firm if she was desperate, but she knew that she was better than that.

One particular opportunity came forward to her when the White House kept requesting Olivia Pope to assist them in the crisis that kept occurring after Jerry's death. Since Olivia showed no signs of returning anytime soon, Abby had offered her help to the White House.

After so many times of helping the political situations that surrounded the White House, they offered her to be their Press Secretary. It was something that Abby didn't have to think twice about accepting because she needed something stable to hold onto, and this was the best thing for her at that moment.

Being in that position, it made her miss Olivia even with all the anger that was racing through her veins.

When Olivia returned, she felt even more anger when she learned that Olivia left them behind so she could run off with her boyfriend. There were so many nights where Abby worried where she was, if she was still alive, and if she'd ever come back.

She wanted to believe that something had happened to Olivia, that the woman she trusted with every part of her would not be so selfish as to leave her whole team behind, with no sign of where she could have gone.

Abby was hurt and angry that the truth was she was wrong about Olivia, that the person she loved did not care about her as much as she had claimed to. It proved to Abby that Olivia would always put herself first.

What upset Abby most was that when she went to attack Olivia about turning David into a poisonous person, she couldn't keep herself from caring about her friend. Nothing could stop her from caring about her, especially not when she saw the fragile state she was in when Abby came in. Even with all the anger she felt towards Olivia she could not be the one that hurt her in the same way that Olivia did her.

Even though they weren't on speaking terms, Olivia's presence in the same city made Abby feel safe again. Abby knew that even if Olivia came to resent her, she'd still be the first person that she'd call, she knew that she'd still be the person she could count on.

Abby knew when she heard that one of the men that Olivia loved had betrayed her, she was going to be there for her no matter how angry she was with her. She could not let the woman experience any pain after everything that she had done for her, she realized that she cared too much about her to let her face it alone.

She remembered that Olivia was there every step of the way for her divorce, she relieved so much of the stress that she was under. She let Abby sleep in her guest room, found her a new place and helped her pay for it until she was stable again.

When Abby had nightmares of Charles coming back, Olivia stayed with her until she could fall back asleep. She was the person that she felt safest with, and the only one she could fully trust to protect her when she revealed the horror of her marriage.

Charles had come back into Abby's life, into the White House to run as senator where she would have to face him again. Even with all her anger for the woman, she turned to Olivia; she was the only one who would know how to keep her safe, away from Chip.

She had come to the realization that Olivia was her savior, the one she would do anything for. Even with the resentment of being left by the woman, she would go over a cliff for her with everything she had done for her.

Her love Olivia was stronger than she'd ever felt for anyone, she would not risk her job in the White House to go through the flash drive on the President's desk for just anyone.

Abby was afraid that Olivia left her again, but she knew with the chance of Chip coming back and hurting her, Olivia wouldn't. Something had to be wrong, her concern for her friend got the better of her and she took the flash drive off of the President's desk because if anyone would know where she was, it would be him.

What she wasn't prepared for was seeing the contents on the flash drive.

Olivia was holding up a newspaper, directed at the President to declare war, to ensure her safety.

Tears fell down her cheeks as she watched it and she couldn't help but look at the fear evident on her friend's face.

Even with three fractured ribs and a broken jaw, Abby felt more pain in that moment than she had in all her life at the thought of losing Olivia Pope.


	2. Betrayal

There were so many things running through her mind as she finished playing the video over for what seemed like the hundredth time at her desk.

No one told her, not even a hint of what was going on.

She deserved to know what was happening to the only person that meant that much to her. The one person that she would do anything for, she had no idea was being locked away and people were probably hurting her. Abby felt helpless, but she knew that at least if she was told by someone before she would have been able to do more than she was able to in her current situation.

David lied to her face when she asked him, and Quinn and Huck would not even give her a hint as to what had happened to her. They said she was gone, but they could have at least told her that something was wrong, she deserved that after all the time she spent with them. They were her family at one point, even when she didn't get along with Quinn but now she was out in the dark for leaving the firm.

She deserved better, and she deserved to know what was happening with her best friend.

She wanted to scream at all of them, especially David. She knew that she had hurt him but she knew that the man she had loved at one point would have at least given her the courtesy to let her know what was happening to her friend, or at least the kind of danger she was in. She deserved some sort of explanation, whether or not it was vague.

Abby could not lose Liv. She kept losing the people around her that she cared about, and it was tearing her apart but the one person she turned to one she lost them, she could not lose.

She lost Stephen, Harrison, and even David. Losing David was her own doing, and she knew that but she didn't have any support system and most of it was not her fault. It wasn't fair that every person she cared about was disappearing from her life, she was falling apart.

Liv was the one constant thing that had been in her life since law school. She was the one person that Abby could always depend on, and she could not lose Olivia Pope from her life. That was the one person she could not accept losing, she needed her more than she needed anyone.

Olivia was her person, and she knew she needed to save her. There had to be a way for her to do it, she would not stop until she knew that Olivia was safe and sound and back where she belonged; with Abby.

Tears continued to spill down her cheeks as she threw down the stapler that was on her desk onto the ground. No one cared enough to tell her, no one thought that it would matter that Olivia was missing to Abby. They thought that she didn't care about her, even though Olivia was the one person she didn't just care about, she _needed_.

Olivia was her everything; her savior, her best friend, her confidant, the only person that she trusted with any secret. Even when she wasn't on the best terms with Olivia, she missed her and that was the part that angered her the most. After three months of not talking to her, she still had a hold on her that she could not let go of.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Abby tried to compose herself before putting the flash drive in her purse and leaving the office. She could not sit around while Olivia was out there with someone hurting her, she knew that Liv would not be sitting around if the positions were reversed.

Abby left the White House and decided that it was time to pay OPA a visit. Her emotions were clouding her judgment so she figured that going to see David in that moment would not help her, with the anger she was feeling especially with them. With all that she had revealed to him, that she had trusted him with, she wished that he could have given her that same respect.

She took a taxi toward the familiar building and let herself into the place she used to consider a second home until Olivia left. It was too painful to come back to after she left, because all of the memories gave her the hope that she would come walking through those doors again, like she always did.

It was painful walking through them now, she wasn't there and there was little chance that she ever would be. A small tear fell down her cheek as she walked into the doors of Olivia Pope &amp; Associates.

There she saw Quinn and Huck both staring intensely at the laptop that was being placed in front of them. They knew, and they didn't tell her either.

She took in a deep breath to calm herself as she made her way over to them. "Where is she? Do not lie to me." Abby had a dangerous look in her eye that threw daggers at the both of them, and dared them to lie to her. She'd had enough secrets and lies that were hidden from her, and she was not going to tolerate it anymore.

Huck and Quinn both gave each other a knowing look, and sighed. She'd came back there before and she asked where she was in a more composed manner. They knew that she knew that they were closer to knowing where she was than anyone else would. They were the most capable of figuring out where the person they all cared about would be, that's why Olivia hired them in the first place.

"I have known her longer than either of you, and I deserved to know about this before either of you, but I'm not wasting my breath on that. I need to find my best friend." Abby looked at them as she leaned over the table, she was across from them. "Before I went to the White House, you guys forget that she left us, you both left right after I did. I didn't come back because I didn't want her to leave us again, without a word."

Her eyes softened as she finished speaking, the anger for the two of them was simmering down as she realized that she was gone again and she didn't have the opportunity to tell Olivia that she was sorry, and why she left in the first place. "Before my work, relationships or anything, you know Olivia has always come first for me." Her eyes met Huck's and he nodded his head to her and then to Quinn.

The brunette was the one to speak as she looked at Abby, even with a small look of sympathy in her eyes. Quinn and Abby were nowhere near close, but she was realizing that she still cared about Olivia as much as they did, maybe even more. "She's going to be sold through an auction that we finally have access to." Quinn began to explain, deciding on how to explain the rest. "She's being sold to the highest bidder, it ends in 48 hours."

The look in Abby's eyes showed the loss of hope in being able to get her friend back. She knew that her best chances of finding Olivia were to stay with Quinn and Huck, because they were the most capable of tracking people down.

Tears pooled in her eyes at the realization that they didn't have money, and she knew that the government would not be able to access this auction or be able to pay them off. She wanted Olivia back more than anything in that moment, she needed her guidance in order to know what to do in this situation.

"We're going to try our hardest to get her back Abby." Quinn tried to reassure her, even though there was not much use in doing so.

Blinking back the tears in her eyes, Abby knew she had to focus in order to find her and she knew she would not be able to sleep until they had a solid plan to follow through on.

"I have money, Abby. The matter at hand is accessing it and changing the source of where the money is coming from. We can't let them know that we are anywhere near the President." Huck explained and some relief finally appeared on Abby's face at those words.

"Are you sure this is going to work? We can't just chance Olivia's life, this is not just a case; this is my best friend." Her words were vicious, but she needed them to know that she was serious about finding her, if they wouldn't be able to save her no one would.

"We'll have it done by the morning. Go home Abby, there's nothing you can do but wait. You won't be any help with no rest." Quinn told her gently, for once she was finally treating Abby like a person.

Abby knew that they were right, she was never good in learning anything over the basic technological aspects. What she knew is that she wouldn't be able to sleep until Olivia was back next to her, she needed her to be okay.

"Call me if there are any updates, at any time." Abby stared at them both with a serious look in her eye when she mentioned the last part. With the nods of both of their heads, she left the building and headed out of the building.

When she put her key into the door, she knew that this was the only place where she might get some rest. As she walked into the living room of Olivia's apartment, she noticed the wine stain on the couch, along with the scattered mess. She observed it all, trying to find anything but she knew that it was useless. Quinn and Huck, and probably even Jake must have already looked over every detail of the scene.

Her eyes watered as she noticed the broken lamp, Olivia was a fighter and she knew that it must have been a hell of a fight to get her out of there.

She went to the bedroom and looked around, the bed was nicely made and didn't seem to be touched. Abby looked around the room, it had been so long since she'd been in her friend's room after everything they'd been through. They kept drifting to other people, Olivia found comfort in either Jake or Fitz, and Abby found her comfort in David, but it wasn't the same as having Olivia being the one to tell her that things were going to be okay.

David saying that everything would be okay meant a lot less than Olivia, because she knew that with Olivia everything would be okay. She trusted her word more than anything, and she'd never been someone to let her down. David was someone who hid things from her, and even lied to her on a few occasions. She could always depend on Olivia for the truth, even if it was something that she didn't want to hear, at least she knew what was going to happen.

Abby sat down on the bed and removed her shoes, and laid back on the bed. The soft scent which always smelled like Olivia ran through her nostrils as she closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. The scent alone reminded her of the safety, and comfort that she always had when Olivia was around, in the hugs and words she shared with Abby. When Liv disappeared so did everything else that Abby found in the woman, no one could replace the feelings that she brought to her.

Memories of all the times that either of them had woken up screaming in the middle of the night, came back as she laid in the bed. Every time Olivia was able to calm her down when she was having a nightmare and she took those moments into consideration as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

She was awoken by a call around three in the morning, she didn't bother to look at the caller I.D. because she figured that it would either be Huck or Quinn. "Any news?" She asked, without even letting the person on the other line speak first.

"Abby." The person spoke gently, but it was enough to wake Abby up completely.

"Olivia?" She thought it was a dream so she needed confirmation from the voice again in order to reassure herself that she was still alive.

"I need your help." Olivia whispered, and Abby felt relief wash over her face at those words.

"Anything."


	3. The Unexpected

Abby was the first person who came to Olivia's mind when she thought about who she would call. She thought about it every time she believed she might even have the slightest access to a phone or access to any of the technology.

No one would have a mind to check Abby's phone because before she was taken, her and Abby did not appear to be on good terms. The encounters near the White House never looked to be on good terms, at least the ones that any of them witnessed. They were just starting to be on better terms before she was taken, but Olivia knew that Abby was still slightly upset with her for leaving.

She knew Abby's number better than she knew her own, it had been the same for years. It was the same number that Abby had when she was with Charles, she remembered the fear she felt every time she saw when Abby called her every time after she learned about Charles' abuse towards her friend.

Every time she got a call from her then, all she could do is worry that something horrible happened. It was hard to convince Abby to leave him, but she did after her jaw was broken, but even when she saw her number she still worried about her.

Even if she knew Fitz's number pretty well, she knew that Abby would be the best option for her safety. She was not directly connected with OPA and Abby's cell phone was not even remotely accessed to even those who worked with her in the White House.

She knew that she and Abby were not on the best terms before she was taken, but Abby was the most loyal person and she knew that she could trust her to help. Abby would never betray her no matter how angry she was with her, she would never put Olivia's safety in danger for any reason.

Loyalty was Abby's best asset, it was one of the reasons that Olivia asked her to come to the firm with her. Even when she didn't agree with some of the decisions that she made, Abby would always respect her judgment and do whatever she needed. This was when she would need her most, and she knew that when the redhead didn't hang up, that she would be able to depend on her, even with the anger that she knew that Abby probably felt towards her.

"Abby, I need you to listen to me." She waited for an okay from her friend before she preceded to give her the instructions. "If our conversation lasts for over a minute, I need you to take it to Huck, so he can track this location down." Her voice was as quiet as she could be, while she sat in the bathroom with her back against the wall. "Okay?"

"As soon as I can, Liv." She promised, and she knew that the moment she hung up that despite any emotions she would have over hearing her best friend's voice, that she would leave and head over to OPA. This was not something that could be waited on, she needed Olivia back there, and she would not let her emotions delay saving her best friend.

25 seconds had passed, so they still had time to come up with conversation to talk about anything.

Abby wanted to try to come with the words to apologize for how things were before Olivia was taken. She was so relieved that she was still alive, but she knew that there was a chance it may have been the last time if she didn't save her somehow.

A small tear fell down her cheek at the thought of never being able to see her again, she had to find a way to save her. She was her best friend, and she was the one person that she couldn't lose, she was the only person who she hadn't lost.

"Are you okay?" Abby asked in a soft voice, it was the first thing she wanted to ask her when she heard the voice on the other side of the line, but she heard Olivia speak first.

"I'm fine, still breathing." It wasn't what Abby meant and Olivia knew it, but she could not describe what had happened to her. Olivia had told Abby that line so many times about when her relationship with Fitz had been breaking her heart.

"Liv..." It was the biggest lie she'd ever heard from Olivia's mouth, she could never hear the real meaning behind the words the woman was saying before that moment. She could sense the fear in her voice that was laced with desperation to get wherever she was. "We'll find you as soon as we can."

Olivia had a tear slip down her cheek at the sound of her promise, she knew that Abby couldn't promise to find her alive but she still had the faith in her best friend to do her best. She knew it may be her last time speaking with her friend. She deserved the truth, of how she really was.

"I'm scared Abby." Her voice broke as she spoke, it was very rare for her to let the wall she had built so high to shield herself from everyone drop, but if it was her last moment she needed to be honest.

"I miss you." It was an honest statement, she couldn't expand on that topic too much more without revealing more of her feelings. When she wasn't feeling the anger for Fitz getting her into this situation and Jake for not protecting her when they were in the same apartment, her mind went to all the things she should have said to Abby when she came back from being with Jake.

45 seconds.

An apology over the phone would not convey what she really meant, she hoped that Abby would be able to save her, but she knew that if the president or even her own team couldn't do it yet there was little hope in this. The one thing she was depending on was Abby's dedication, she knew that Abby would go over a cliff or even more to save her if that's what it meant. That was what terrified her most about her friend's dedication and loyalty to her, she could go too far.

"I miss you too." She could hear her friend trying to hold back every emotion on the other end of the line, but failing miserably as she heard a soft sob erupt. "We have to get you back, we need you. _I need you._" Abby spoke her words with emotion that she was afraid that the one thing she asked of her to do may have been forgotten.

52 seconds.

"Abby stop." Every word that her friend spoke made her feel so much guilt, she could sense no anger in her friend's voice and she knew that even under the circumstances Abby deserved to feel it towards her. Tears fell down her face as she spoke as softly as she could so the men in the living room would not hear her. "I'm sorry for everything, I wish I had a better apology, but if I die, I can't die knowing that you don't know how sorry I am." Her emotions were getting the better of her as the words slipped through her mouth into the phone. She had to stop herself.

"Don't do this, not now. You can't die." Abby said in a defensive manner, she knew that she had to save her, she could not let her best friend die not knowing why she was mad.

"Take the phone to Huck and if anything happens to me, I need you to make sure they're okay, even Fitz." Olivia spoke, she knew that she could depend on Abby to do this for her but she didn't want the obligation to seem like something that would be a reminder of what she'd failed to do.

Both of them held back their emotions before they said goodbye.

90 seconds was how long the phone call lasted, and it waved Abby with so many emotions that she was barely able to fix herself up before she left Olivia's apartment with her phone in her purse.

She looked for a cab, unaware of her surroundings with all the emotions and adrenaline running through her veins at the thought of saving her friend.

That was before she was struck in the back of the head and everything went black.


End file.
